Review by leslieawright129 -- Who Told You That You Were...

[leslieawright129]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden by William E. Combs is an interesting exploration of the book of Genesis. The book is structured as a Bible study and each chapter is followed by discussion questions. These questions would be good for a group, but I found that they also helped guide my reading as an individual.

Like most Christian authors Mr. Combs gives extensive scriptural background for the majority of his points, but he also embellishes the scripture to make it more relatable. While this may sound heretical the author is very clear about what is taken from scripture and what is his own imagining of the story and I felt that it was done respectfully and with no ill intent. It should also be noted that the author is what I would describe as an Evangelical Christian and interprets scripture literally. The author takes time to look at alternative translations of the text and often refers to the Greek and Hebrew meanings of specific terms.

Many chapters included stories and testimony from the author's personal life. The majority of these stories were entertaining and helped to explain the point the author was making, however some of the stories were disturbing and didn't seem relevant. The author includes a few stories about his encounters with demons which would not be suitable for children.

I rated this book 2 out of 4 stars because although I didn't enjoy it personally I feel that other people might. I am a progressive Christian and I disagreed with the author's literal interpretation of the Genesis story and the many epistles and New Testament scriptures he referenced. Although I disagreed with much of what the author was asserting, I did appreciate hearing an interpretation of scripture from someone with a very different perspective. I enjoyed most of the personal stories the author included, especially the story of how he came to be in ministry. The book was very well edited and I did not find any typos or formatting errors.

I would recommend this book to Evangelical Christians looking to study the book of Genesis. This study is written for mature Christians with a good working knowledge of the Bible.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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[Erin Painter Baker]

As a non-Christian, the inclusion of demons actually makes this book seem a little more interesting to me, but I can completely see how that might not work for the intended audience. And even if you didn't agree with that author's conclusions, I think its great that the book helped guide some of your reading of the Bible.